Stalk shredder and adjusting mechanism therefor



STALK SHREDDER AND ADJUSTING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Feb. 25. 1955 Jun22, 1 E. E. KUHARY ETAL I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 NVEN E RY F RfD ERICK BPSAWYER BY June 22, 1954 E, E, KUHARY ETAL 2,681,536

STALK SHREDDER AND ADJUSTING MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Feb. 25, 1953 3Sheets-Sheet 3 EINVEN 0 T R EMERY .KUHAR & FREDERICK D. SAWYER BY fi ANDW,

ATTORNEY Patented June 22, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STALKSHREDDER AND ADJUSTING MECHANISM THEREFOR Application February 25, 1953,Serial No. 338,684

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a front mounted rotary stalk shredder fortractors. In one aspect this invention relates to a front mounted rotarystalk shredder for tractors having a trailing three-point linkage forconnection to power liftable implements. In a further aspect thisinvention relates to a front mounted stalk shredder adapted to verticalmovement by actuation of a trailing implement lift mechanism.

This invention provides a novel front mounted rotary stalk shreddercomprised of a pair of horizontally rotating blades and a shieldenclosing said blades, said assembly being adapted to vertical movementby actuation of the trailing draft links of the tractors implementsuspension system.

More particularly, the stalk shredder of the present invention iscomprised of a pair of rotating blades surrounded by a hood, the entireassembly being mounted in a novel manner for vertical movement andadapted'to be driven from the front end of the crankshaft of a tractor.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a novelfront mounted stalk shredder for tractors having trailing three-pointlinkages for connection to power liftable implements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a front mountedstalk shredder for tractors, said. shredder being adapted to receivepower from the front end of the crankshaft of the tractor engine.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a front mountedrotary stalk shredder which is adapted to be vertically moved bylinkages connecting said shredder and the trailing draft links oftractors having trailing power liftable implement suspension systems.

The specific nature of this invention, as well as other objects andadvantages thereof, will become apparent to those skilled in the artfrom the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theattached sheets of drawings on which, by way of preferred example only,is illustrated one embodiment of this invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a tractor of wellknown make, illustrating thestalk shredder of the present invention mounted thereon;

Figure 2 is a plan view of a tractor of wellknown make, illustrating thestalk shredder of the present invention mounted thereon;

Figure 3 is a front view of the shredder of the present invention withparts in fragmentary section, showing the shredder in a lower operatingposition; and

Mich., assignors, by

Figure 4 is a front view of the shredder of the present invention withparts in fragmentary section, showing the shredder in a raised operatingposition.

As shown on the drawings:

In Figures 1 and 2, reference numeral. ll! refers to the rotary stalkshredder of the present invention attached to a tractor l of well-knownmake by means of the bracket elements l2 and i211, which brackets arerigidly secured to the front axle of the tractor by suitable means suchas bolts. As shown in Figure 2, these bracket members are comprised ofangle iron portions l3 and |3a to which are suitably secured, such as bywelding, the support arms If and Ho, which project to a point forward ofthe tractor and support the frame from which the cutting head and guard,to be later described, are suspended.

As further shown in Figure 2, the supporting framework of the stalkshredder is comprised of a generally U-shaped member l5, rigidlysecured, as by welding, to the T-shaped tubular member it, as at pointsIda and 15b. Braces I! and Ila are secured, as by welding, to said T-shaped member between the body and the cross arm to provide rigidconstruction. At the outermost ends of the T-frame It are Welded steelguide plates Ilia and Nib and 160, which coact with mating slidingmembers of the blade and guard frame assembly for controlled verticalmovement thereof.

The blade and guard assembly and the supporting framework therefor canbest be described by reference to Figures 1 and 3, which show side andfront views respectively of the mechanism. The frame comprises aT-shaped. tubular member it which resembles the T-shaped main frame it,above it. To the outermost ends of frame 18 are welded angle memberslBa, I8?) and Ito which slide vertically past the mating guide members[6a, lab and ltc of the upper main frame it. Bearings 2| and 22 aresuitably mounted, as by welding, to T-frame l3 and carry the shafts 2mand 22a. Suitably secured to the lower ends of shafts Zla and 22a arethe rotating blades iii) and 22b, which are slightly verticallydisplaced, one above the other, to provide clearance therebetween. Thetip peripheries of these blades overlap slightly to cut a clean swathand thus the necessity of slight vertical displacement for clearance.

Bearings 2|c and 220 are welded to the cross arm of T-frame Hi and aresuperpositioned in vertical alignment with bearings 2| and 22,respectively. Thus shaft m is iournaled in bearsuitable configuration,such as a V-belt,

' guard 29.

ings 2i and 2lc and shaft 22a is journaled in bearings 22 and 220. Asheet metal guard is secured, as by welding, to frame number I8 atpoints 18d and l8e and surrounds blades Zib and 22b.

Power is supplied to the present shredder from the tractor engine bymeans of a power-take-off pulley attached to the front end of thecrankshaft. As shown in Figure 2, U-shaped bracket 25 is bolted to thetractor frame, and carries bearing 2? at its outer end for the supportof the crankshaft extension 28, secured to the crankshaft by knownmeans, such as a sleeve, or the like. Driving pulley 29 is secured in aconventional manner, such as by means of a Woodruff key or the like, tothe outer end of said crankshaft extension 28. Plates 3!] and 36a arefastened, as by welding, to tubular frame member 15 and provide supportfor transfer pulleys 3| and 31a and their respective shafts and bearingsof conventional configuration. The pulleys 2! d and 22d 'arefastened tothe inner race of bearings Zic and.22c,.respectively. These pulley boresand the bearing races are splined internally and said splines matchmating splines on the upper portions of shafts Zia and 22a. .Thus shafts2 la and 22aare slidably mounted within said bearings and pulleys 2lo2ldand 22c-22d. A belt of is wrapped about driving pulley 29, transferpulleys 3i and 35 la and driven pulleys 2 Id and 22d. Thus power istransmitted from the tractor engine crankshaft via beltfiZ and theassociated pulleys to'shafts Zia and 22a and thus to blades 2H) I and2217.

To vary the'cutting heightof the blades, a lift mechanism is providedwhich is actuated by the trailing draft links of'the tractors implementsuspension system. One-half of this lift mechanism is shown in Figure 1wherein a bracket member-35 of substantial L-shape is bolted orotherwise rigidly fastened to the liftable tractor draft linktfi. Aconnecting member 3? is pivotally securedto bracket 35 andextendsforward along the side of tractor H to point 38 whereit ispivotallyattached to bell crank 39. The bell crank 39 is also pivotallyattached to top frame member $5 of the shredder frame, as at point 48.The forwardly projecting arm M of bell crank 39 has a hole drilled inits outer end and a chain A 2 is suspended therefrom and welded at itsother end as at 3 to the sheet metal The other half of the liftingmechanism is shown in the plan View provided in Figure 2 and comprisesbracket 35a, connecting member 31a, bell crank 39a with its forwardlyprojecting lift arm Ma, and chain 42a, assembled, as described above, onthe opposite side of the tractor to draft link 35a and the shredder.

Thus upon actuation of'the tractors hydraulic system, the draft link 35will be raised and bracket '35 will be pulled rearwardly, also pullingconnecting member 31 rearwardl'y, thus imparting verticalmovement to arm4| of hell crank 39. This causes chain 42 to be lifted and with it arelifted the sheet metal housing, floating T- frame l8, cutter bars-2lband 222), etc. Shafts Zia and-22a slide upwardly through the splinedraces of bearings Ho and 220. As the floating cutter head and guardassembly is raised, it is guided for vertical movement by angle membersI811 and 13b and I30, which slide past the mating guicle'members 46a,and Nib andliic, which are secured tothe outer ends of main frame l6.Thusthe cutting height of-the shredder can be changed while the bladesare rotating and such change can be effected while the tractor is inmotion or at rest, as desired.

The advantages of the present shredder will be obvious to those skilledin the art. For example, the present shredder is mounted at the front ofthe tractor in full view of the driver for his convenience of operationand guidance as he moves the tractor forward. The cutting height of thepresent shredder is readily adjusted by the driver from the convenienceof the tractor seat by operation of the tractors buiit-in implementlifting mechanism. The operator need only move a lever by the flick of afinger to'change the cutting height of the mechanism. The operator canreadily change the cutting height while the cutter blades are in motionand while the tractor is in motion or at rest as desired.

It will, of course, be understood'that various details of constructionmay be varied through a wide range without departing from the principlesof this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit thepatent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

i. For use with a tractor having an engine, the improvement of animplement adjusting structure, said structure including a main frame,.means for rigidly attaching said main to said tractor, a subframesuspended from and linearly, vertically movable with respect to saidmain frame, co aoting guide means on said -main frame and said subframe,a vertical shaft, means rotatably journal ing said shaft at itslower endon said subirame, and means slidably, rotata'bly journaling said shaftat its upper end on said main frame, a rotata ie implement mounted onthe bottom end of said shaft beneath said subirame, a shieldrigidlysecured to said subframe in overlying, surrounding relation to saidrotatable implement, means operatively connecting said shaft tosaid'tractor engine,.and means for lifting said subframe,-wherebylinear, vertical movement is imparted'to said subframe, said implementand said shield.

2. For use with a tractor having an engine and a power-lifteddraft link,the improvement of an implement adjusting structure, said structureincludinga horizontal-1y.disposed, generally T-shaped main frame,wherein the cross arm of said T is laterally dispose'd'with relation tothe direction of travel of said tractorand the stem of said T projectsforward from the center of said cross arm, means for securing said mainframe to said tractor, a bellcrank supported on said main frame forvertical pivotalmovement, a vertically movable subframe, said subframecorresponding in configuration to and underlying said main frame, avertical shaft, means rotatably journaltically movable relation betweensaid frames, and means for connecting said tractor draft link and theother arm of said bell crank, whereby upon actuation of said draft link,linear, vertical movement is imparted to said subframe, said implementand said shield.

3. The combination defined in claim 2 wherein said main frame hasvertically disposed, platelike guide members rigidly secured to each ofits outer ends and said subframe has laterally spaced pairs ofvertically disposed angle iron guide members rigidly secured to andextending above each of its outer ends, said angle iron guide membersbeing disposed to coact with said vertically disposed guide plates onsaid main frame, whereby upon actuation of said tractor draft links,linear vertical movement is imparted to said subframe.

References Cited in the file of thi atent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 10 1,442,032 Luce et a1. Jan. 9, 1923 2,305,254 I-IirschkornDec. 15, 1942 2,388,411 Hicks Nov, 6, 1945 2,466,555 Paine et al. Apr.5, 1949 2,483,683 Wells et a1. Oct. 4, 1949

